There are very few empirical studies of the level of engagement of social work academics in the creation of social welfare policies in Spain. There are even fewer that approach the topic from a quantitative perspective. This chapter offers an initial descriptive approach to the level of engagement and participation of faculty at schools of social work in Spain in the design, evaluation and implementation of social welfare policies.

The chapter is divided into five parts. The first reflects on social work in Spain, both as a profession and as an academic discipline in Spanish universities. This analysis of the context also refers to the relationship of social workers towards social policy. The second part summarises methodological aspects of the empirical inquiry (instrument, participants, application and fieldwork). The third part presents the main findings of the study, on social work academics’ level of engagement in policy, their perceived impacts, the role of academia and the personal role of social work scholars, policy-related resources; it then analyses the factors related to the level of engagement. This is followed by a discussion of the results and the conclusions of the study.

We would like to thank the social work academics that participated in the study for their involvement, without which this study would not have been possible. We would like to dedicate this text to them.

The context: Social work education and the profession in Spain

In Spain the first schools for social assistants were established in the 1930s, but the Civil War disrupted this development. The Franco dictatorship years (1939-75) led to the international isolation of Spain and to a country struggling with underdevelopment. Franco established a Catholic denominational state (National Catholicism) delegating the social assistance and care system to the responsibility of religious organisations affiliated with the Catholic Church. In this socio-political context, women were assigned the role of both mothers and carers. Women's opportunities for employment were usually limited to activities seen as feminine, such as being a nurse or a teacher, and most educational institutions were part of the Church.

The major growth of the social assistants’ schools took place during the late 1950s, within an underdeveloped context.